Indian Gymnastics on a Rubber Mat (Day 5)

I'll admit it, I fell behind in time today. But I said I would post every day. So I'm gonna. And I post this segment not because its just easy to post and go to sleep (well, its a perk) but I also had full intentions to post it at some point. When I read it, it was like the lightbulb turned on. Not like its not something I didn't already know, because its kind of a duh thing, but it just clicked, and everything shifted every so slightly.

Plus, I totally giggled at, "If there is no breath, there is no yoga. Only Indian gymnastics on a factory made rubber mat. "

So without further explanation, I am going to go crawl into bed and leave you with this gem of knowledge......

No wind=No sail. No Breath=No Yoga.

If you have ever stepped foot on a sailboat, you know that sailing without wind is literally impossible. You cannot move, and you do not move. And if there is a solid wind initially, allowing you move gracefully across the sea with an elegant tilt, and then out of no where it stops, your sailing stops, in a bad way. Immediately the sails flop down and start to clank against the mast. The ropes get tangled. The boat starts to rock, and maybe even do a little 360. You go no where. You get no where. You are totally stuck.

The wind in sailing is akin to the breath in yoga. Without the breath, there is no yoga. It is impossible. It does not exist.

The breath is what MAKES YOGA WORK. It is the link between your external, tangible, gross body, and your internal, intangible, subtle body.

The breath moves, molds, and makes the subtle body into the you you are, and the you you see, feel, and live through via your external body. The breath feeds every cell of you, those that compose your muscles, your mood, and more importantly, those in the mind.

When you try and practice yoga without the breath, you will end up like a sailboat without the wind at sea. Your body will move without elegant ease or direction. Your muscles will feel limp and cranky. And above all, the ropes of thoughts swinging through your mind will be come tangled. You will feel stuck, as opposed to floating gracefully through your day, which is likely why you “went to yoga” to begin with.

If there is no wind, there is no sailing. If there is no breath, there is no yoga. Only Indian gymnastics on a factory made rubber mat.

So next time you do your yoga, don’t let yourself spin in circles and go nowhere. Make sure, instead, that you BREATHE, breathe so you can sail through your day, your life, your YOU.